Civil liability of environmental damage: the multi causality and future damage

Abstract

This paper analyses multicausality and future damages as legal categories that establish environmental liability. These categories are defined according to as Ulrich Beck’s risk society theory. Environmental damage defies the traditional logic of certainty of the damage, because pollution is a process often cumulative and complex, often without precise identification of the perpetrators and the amount of individual contributions to the damage. In addition, there may be pollution associated with other causes not fully identifiable. CPC’s burden of proof rule can lead to undesirable results considering the protection of health and the environment. It is proposed a solution to the problem of multicausality and certainty and actuality of damages under probabilistic basis. Case law is presented as well.